In the practice of religion, a cult image is a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos See also List of deities A deity is a Postulated Preternatural or Supernatural Being, who is always Cultus, the outward religious formulas of "cult", often centers upon the treatment of cult images, which may be dressed, fed or paraded, etc. This article discusses cult in the original and typically ancient sense of "religious practice" (cultus Religious images cover a wider range of all types of images made with a religious purpose, subject, or connection. A religious image is a work of Visual art that is representational and has a religious purpose subject or connection

Cult images in Ancient Egypt

Apis Bull

Cult images in classical Greece and Rome

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Parthenon contains a cult image of Athena, the Greek goddess of civilization and the noble side of war. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Parthenon ( Ancient Greek:) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. This cult image was done by Phidias, the sculptor and head supervisor of building the Parthenon. Phidias (or Pheidias; in Ancient Greek,; c[[ 80 BC]] c 430 BC) son of Charmides was an ancient Greek The Parthenon ( Ancient Greek:) is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis This cult image was used for religious sacrifices at this Athenian temple.

In Greek and Roman mythology, a "palladium" was an image of great antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend, especially the wooden one that Odysseus and Diomedes stole from the citadel of Troy and which was later taken to Rome by Aeneas. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Roman mythology, or more appropriately Latin mythology, refers to the mythological beliefs of the Italic people inhabiting the region of Latium and its In Greek and Roman mythology, a palladium or palladion was an image of great antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend grc-Latn Odysseus or la Ulysses ( Greek grc-Latn Odysseus; Latin: la Ulixes or more commonly Ulysses) oʊˈdɪsiəs Diomēdēs or Diomed ( Greek: Διομήδης English translation: "God-like cunning" or "advised by Zeus" is a Hero A citadel is a fortress for protecting a Town, sometimes incorporating a Castle. Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 This article is about the Roman hero For other uses see Aeneas (disambiguation. (The Roman story was related in Virgil's Aeneid and other works. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in )

Opposition from Abrahamic religions

Main articles: aniconism and iconoclasm

Members of "Abrahamic religions" identify cult images as "idols" and their veneration as "idolatry", the worship of hollow forms (Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians make an exception for the veneration of saints, which is not considered adoration or latria). Aniconism is the practice or belief in avoiding or shunning the graphic representation of divine beings or religious figures or in different manifestations any human beings or living Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments Idolatry is usually defined as Worship of any Cult image, Idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. In Christianity, veneration ( Latin veneratio, Greek &delta&omicron&upsilon&lambda&iota&alpha dulia) or veneration of saints Adoration ( Latin) is to give Homage or Worship to someone or something Latrīa is a Latin term (from the Greek λατρεια) used in Orthodox and Catholic theology to mean Adoration, which is the highest The word idol entered Middle English in the 13th century from Old French idole adapted in Church Latin from the Greek eidolon ("appearance" extended in later usage to "mental image, apparition, phantom"). Middle English is the name given by Historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of Ecclesiastical Latin (sometimes called Church Latin) is the Latin dialect as used in documents of the Roman Catholic Church and in its Latin liturgies Greek eidos means "form" [1] as used by Plato. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece

Idols in Mecca

Towards the end of the pre-Islamic era in Arabian city of Mecca; an era otherwise known as the جاهلية, or al-Jahiliyah, the pagan merchants of Mecca controlled the sacred Kaaba; thereby regulating control over it & thus over the city itself. Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored Jahiliyyah, al-Jahiliyah or jahalia ( Arabic: جاهلية) is an Islamic concept of "ignorance of divine guidance" or "the The Kaaba ( Arabic: ar الكعبة; 'kɑʕbɑ or 'kæʕbæ "Cube" is a Cuboidal building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the Innumerable people flocked here to place their idols in the Kaaba & in the process being charged tithes to place their idols in the Kaaba, thus helping the Meccan merchants to incur substantial wealth. The Kaaba ( Arabic: ar الكعبة; 'kɑʕbɑ or 'kæʕbæ "Cube" is a Cuboidal building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the

By the time the Prophet Muhammad was born, the city was a beacon for the pagan activities that surrounded the Kaaba; attracting countless peoples throughout the Arabian Peninsula. IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics The Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīra al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب jazīrat al-ʻarab) Some six months before his birth, the Prophet lost his father & by the age of six, tragedy struck again when he lost his mother. Thereon he lived with his grandfather and then his uncle. The Prophet's uncle was a merchant, a profession the young Prophet eventually took up as well. It was on one of his travels that he met Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the daughter of a wealthy merchant and soon to be his first wife. Theirs was an awkward relationship, for Khadijah was much older than Muhammad (the Prophet is estimated to have been twenty-five years of age and that Khadijah was fifteen years his senior, thus making her at least forty years of age) when, according to the Arab customs of the time, she proposed to him via her relatives.

Although their marriage was more for business than love, it was by all accounts a long and happy one, lasting a good twenty-five years. Yet for all of his wealth, the Prophet was still inclined to contemplative discontent and on a daily basis, he would go up to a cave on Mt. Hira in order to pray and meditate, reflecting on his life's experiences that had changed him so much. In the year 610 the angel Gabriel appeared before the Prophet and told him that he was the Messenger of God. This article is about the year 610. Events By Place Byzantine Empire October 4 — Heraclius arrives Soon the Prophet, who was illiterate, began to memorize and recite the revelations revealed to him by the angel Gabriel, forming the very first chapters, or sura of the al-Quran. Sura (sometimes spelt "Surah" ar سورة, plural "Suwar" ar سور is an Arabic term literally meaning "something enclosed or surrounded The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Thus he began to preach monotheism (tawhīd and wāḥid), of the oneness of Allah and urging his fellow Meccans to stop worshipping idols. Allah ( Arabic: الله, ʔalˤːɑːh) is the standard Arabic word for '

The Prophet's preaching incurred the wrath of the pagan merchants, causing them to plot against the young Prophet. The opposition to his teachings grew so volatile that the Prophet and his followers were forced to flee Mecca to Medinah for protection; leading to armed conflict and triggering many battles that were won and lost, a war that finally ended with the conquest of Mecca in the year 630. Medina mɛˈdiːnə (المدينة المنورة ælmæˈdiːnæl muˈnɑwːɑrɑ or المدينة ælmæˈdiːnæ also transliterated into English as Mecca was conquered by the Muslims in January 630 AD (10th day of Ramadan[[ AH]] Events By Place Byzantine Empire Serbs settle in the Balkans having been invited by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius In the aftermath, the Prophet did three things. Firstly, with his companions he visited the Kaaba and literally threw out the idols and destroyed them, thus cleansing the Kaaba from the stains of Jahiliyyah. Secondly, he ordered the construction of a mosque around the Kaaba, the first Masjid al-Haram mosque after the birth of Islam (although Muslim belief holds that the mosque was created by angels before the creation of mankind). Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām ( ar المسجد الحرام ʔælmæsʤɪd ælħaram "The Sacred Mosque" is the largest Mosque in the world Thirdly, in a magnanimous manner, the Prophet pardoned all those who had taken up arms against him. With the destruction of the and the construction of the Masjid al-Haram, a new era was ushered in; facilitating the rise of Islam.

Cult images in Christianity

Frans Hogenberg, The Calvinist Iconoclastic Riot of August 20, 1566, Hamburg, Kunsthalle. In 1566, many paintings and church decorations, particularly images of the Virgin Mary and saints that were considered "cultic" by Reformers, were destroyed in a brief, but violent, iconoclastic outbreak in the Low Countries. The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt Several similar episodes occurred during the early Reformation period. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time

Christian images that are venerated are called icons. An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Christians who venerate icons make an emphatic distinction between Veneration and Worship, though the proliferation of wonder-working images since at least the 4th century shows that the distinction is blurred in ordinary practice: see Image of Edessa, Veronica etc. In Christianity, veneration ( Latin veneratio, Greek &delta&omicron&upsilon&lambda&iota&alpha dulia) or veneration of saints This article refers to the religious act For the album by Michael W

The introduction of venerable images in Christianity was highly controversial for centuries, especially in Eastern Orthodoxy: see the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversies of the 8th and 9th centuries. The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments In the West, resistance to idolatry delayed the introduction of sculpted images for centuries until the rise of Romanesque art and the use of the crucifix. Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century or later depending on region A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus meaning "(one fixed to a cross" is a cross with a representation of Jesus ' body or corpus The intensified pathos that informs the poem Stabat Mater takes corporeal form in the realism and sympathy-inducing sense of pain in the typical Western European corpus (the representation of Jesus' crucified body) from the mid-13th century onwards. Pathos (ˈpeɪːθɒs ( πάθος) is one of the three Modes of persuasion in Rhetoric (along with Ethos and Logos) Stabat Mater is a thirteenth century Roman Catholic sequence variously attributed to Innocent III and Jacopone da Todi "The theme of Christ's suffering on the cross was so important in Gothic art that the mid-thirteenth-century statute of the corporations of Paris provided for a guild dedicated to the carving of such images, including ones in ivory" [2].

The 16th-century Reformation engendered spates of cult-image smashing, notably in England and Scotland, the Low Countries and France. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt Often the damage was concentrated on three-dimensional cult images, especially images of the Virgin Mary and saints, but the iconoclasts ("image-breakers") also smashed representations of holy figures in stained glass windows and other imagery. Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments For the Blackford Oakes novel see Stained Glass (novel The term stained glass refers either to the material of coloured Glass or to the art Further destruction of cult images, anathema to Puritans, occurred during the English Civil War. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Less extreme transitions occurred throughout northern Europe in which formerly Catholic churches became Protestant. In these, the corpus (body of Christ) was removed from the crucifix leaving a bare cross and walls were whitewashed of religious images.

Catholic regions of Europe, especially artistic centres like Rome and Antwerp, responded to Reformation iconoclasm with a Counter Reformation renewal of cult imagery. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 ||-||-||-||} Antwerp ( Dutch:, French: Anvers) is a City and Municipality in Belgium and the capital of the The Counter-Reformation (also Catholic Reformation denotes the period of Catholic revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the The cult of the Virgin Mary flourished, in practice and in imagery, and new shrines, such as in Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore, were built for Medieval miraculous icons as part of this trend. The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (its Italian name known in English also as St Mary Major, is an ancient Catholic Basilica of Rome An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity.

Jainism

The focus for image worship among many Jains is the icon of the Tirthankara in either a domestic shrine or temple shrine room. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. In Jainism, a Tirthankar (" Fordmaker " (also Tirthankara or Jina) is a Human being who achieves enlightenment (perfect It appears that Tirthankaras cannot respond to such worship, but veneration of the image can function as a meditative aid. Although most worship takes the form of prayers, hymns and recitations, the idol is sometimes ritually bathed, and often has offerings of made to it; there are eight kinds of offering representing the eight karmas of Jainism. Karma ( Sanskrit: कर्म, kárman - "act action performance" Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" [3]

This form of reverence is not a central tenet of the faith, and there seems to be debate about the value of this form of worship.

See also

• Madonna and Child
• Fetishism
• Asherah
• Murti
• Prana pratishta
• Puja
• Antinous Mondragone